


It Has to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

by Lightning5



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5685895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning5/pseuds/Lightning5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He runs his hands through his hair and lets out a breath.</p><p> <em>I’m a Death Eater. I’m a Death Eater.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	It Has to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own these characters or the universe I dropped them in. I've been sitting on this for a while and decided to post it. I did a quick (EXTREMELY quick) edit, so if they are any mistakes let me know!
> 
> Comments and kudos are encouraged!

_Summer 1988_

The words are already out of Gale’s mouth before he can stop himself.

“Why am I not surprised to see you in here?”

The young blonde turns, rolling her eyes at him, book still open to the page she was browsing.

“Well, _I’m_ surprised y _ou’re_ in a bookshop. Are you lost, Hawthorne?”

He grins and holds up his booklist. “Nope. The map my mum drew for me led me here. Just picking up a book my brother forgot to get.”

“Which one?” Gale notes that she looks interested and despite her sarcasm, he’s sure she wants to keep talking to him. When he tells her the title ( _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ ), she beckons him to follow her. She walks fast, so by the time he catches up to her, she places the book in his hands. Okay, he’s impressed.

“Do you want to get an ice cream with me?” he blurts out.

Madge blushes. “Doesn’t your brother need his book?”

“He can wait a little bit longer,” Gale shrugs.

* * *

  _November 1989_

He enters the Three Broomsticks after Bristel when he sees Madge laughing at something and he realizes her companion is a boy, which means _she’s on a date_. He absentmindedly follows his friend to the bar, suddenly not in the mood to celebrate the weekend. Auror training is his main focus these days and he usually spends his free time resting and studying, but Bristel convinced him to come out. Now he regrets it.

“Firewhiskey?” Bristel asks him. He nods in reply. He glances in Madge’s direction, but she doesn’t notice him. She’s too engrossed in the person sitting across from her. He knocks back the glass of firewhiskey set down in front of him. He should not be jealous. He has no reason to be. Oh, but he is.

The ice cream date of last summer didn’t go anywhere. Sure, they had impromptu study dates in the library when Gale would “bump” into her (he was a Slytherin after all), but it was his final year and he came to the conclusion that she wasn’t interested, so why would he start something that would end after his N.E.W.T.s and her O.W.L.s?

He asks for another while Bristel looks at him in astonishment.

“I thought you don’t drink?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

Gale shrugs. “I don’t.” Madam Rosmerta gives him another and he waits for Bristel to clink his glass and gulps it down. He coughs a bit which makes Bristel laugh, but then he finds himself chuckling along. He feels better now.

He’s talking to Bristel when he hears her calling his name. He turns and she’s right in front of him and looks surprised, yet happy to see him.

“Madge!” he exclaims, opening his arms to give her a hug. He feels her squeeze him tight before letting go. “What do I owe the pleasure? Having a nice time?”

“Just a typical Hogsmeade weekend,” she shrugs. She turns to Bristel and introduces herself. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, definitely,” Bristel chimes in, taking a drink of his Butterbeer. Gale’s still smiling like an idiot but he can’t help it. “I’ll be right over there.” Bristel points to the corner of the bar where a group of young women are enjoying their drinks. “Have fun you two,” he says before he leaves.

“So, where’s the boyfriend?” he asks.

Madge gives him a confused look. “I don’t have a boyfriend?”

“That bloke you were sitting with? He’s not your boyfriend?”

Her eyebrows furrow before a look of understanding crosses her face. “John? He’s just a friend of mine.”

Oh. Well, John looked like he wanted to be more than _just friends_. He must have said it out loud for Madge’s confused stare turns into anger. Then, she marches out of the pub and Gale has just enough sense to follow.

“Hold on, Undersee! Merlin, you walk fast,” he mutters under his breath, nearly running and dodging other patrons to catch up with her. He reaches her when she turns down a side street, tries to put his hand on her shoulder, but she fiercely shrugs him off and turns with her wand against his chest.

“I’m sorry!” He holds his hands up in surrender. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“I should! For implying that John was my boyfriend! You have _no right_ to say that to me.”

“You’re right,” he says, gently grabbing her wand hand, because he really doesn’t need to be cursed by her. He slowly lowers it and she lets him. “I apologize. I’m going to be honest because of the firewhiskey I drank.” Madge scoffs at that. “I was jealous because that should have been us on Hogsmeade visits. That should have been us last year—”

Madge shakes her head with a pained expression. “You never did anything about it. I know I could have but I didn’t want to lose you as a friend, but apparently that’s already happened, because this is the first time I’m seeing or hearing from you.”

He lets go of her arm and she pockets her wand. The cold breeze and both their confessions sober him up. “Let’s start over.”

* * *

_July 1991_

“Are they here yet?” Posy whines, swinging Gale’s hand with her own.

“Not yet,” he replies, discreetly adjusting his Auror robes. He’s only slightly nervous, because he hasn’t seen Madge since Christmas holidays. She opted to stay during her Spring break for her N.E.W.T.s and Gale understood. Damn, he missed her and now she’ll be arriving soon with the other Hogwarts students, including his brothers, for the summer holidays.

“I wish the train would hurry,” Posy says, standing on the tips of her toes, even though she’s not tall enough to see over everyone. Long gone are the days Gale could easily throw her up onto his shoulders.

“You excited to see Rory and Vic?”

He watches as she mulls over his question and shrugs. “No, I want to see Madge.”

Gale snorts, but then his attention is diverted to the train whistle signaling its arrival. Once the students disembark, he keeps a tighter hold on Posy and cranes his neck over the crowd. The first one out is Vic, saying good-bye to his friends before he spots Gale. As his youngest brother relays on the things he’s learned the past year, Rory shows up followed by Prim and Madge. Gale notices that Katniss is behind them, willingly talking to Peeta Mellark. He turns back around to see that Madge has Posy in a bone-crushing hug while the younger girl giggles.

“Where’s my hug?” Gale teases. His heart’s hammering against his chest in excitement and he can’t help but think how beautiful she looks. It’s been seven months and it’s like he’s taken a breath of fresh air. She smiles at him as Posy pulls away and runs up to Katniss’ side, shyly looking at Peeta who offers her a warm smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Rory groans. “Just kiss already.”

Gale shoots him a glare as Madge rolls her eyes. He’s still glaring at his brother, who gives him a cheeky grin, when she reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck. She looks over at Rory and hints at something that happened at the school which shuts him up.

“What—?”

“Don’t ask,” she warns, pressing herself against him. He snakes his arms around her back and hugs her tight as she sighs into his neck. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he says against her temple.

* * *

_J_ _uly 1996_

His left forearm still burns as he knocks the secret knock on the front door. He’s breathing heavily not yet comprehending what he’s done just a few hours ago. It feels like a dream, a nightmare, and he needs to see her so he can calm down. _He’s an Auror for Merlin’s sake_. He’s been in serious situations before but this?

This is on its own level.

Gale’s ready to knock again when he hears her voice through the door asking her security question. He huffs and feels his neck grow hot, but he answers and does the same to her. The door opens and he’s pulled in by the collar of his shirt and into the arms of the shorter blonde, clad in her pajamas. He hears the door close and lock behind him and focuses on Madge, who’s squeezing him tightly. Other than Dumbledore, she’s the only one that knows what he’s doing.

_“Why you?” she cries from her spot on the couch, letting the tears flow down her face. He knows she doesn’t mean that he’s bad at what he does. She’s scared and he is too, but Dumbledore requested Gale. He wasn’t going to turn down the Headmaster._

_Gale kneels in front of her, wrapping his arms around her as he gently places his forehead against hers. She shakes when he rubs her back. She pulls away so she can look him in the eyes as she cups his face and whispers that she doesn’t want him to do this._

_"I don’t care how ridiculous I sound,” Madge continues and he tightens his arms around her. He nudges her legs apart so he can get closer and she lets him._

_“You’re not ridiculous,” he whispers back. She wipes her eyes with her sleeve. “But I want to stop this. Stop this from becoming how it was the first time.” They both lost loved ones to Voldemort and his supporters. “I can help.”_

_“We’re already helping!” she exclaims. “We’re joined the Order for that exact reason. What Dumbledore is asking you to do is—”_

_“Too much?” he supplies and she scoffs._

_“Yes.”_

Madge doesn’t ask questions and he’s grateful for it. They continue to hold each other before she directs him to the table, making him sit down while she rummages around the kitchen to make tea. He runs his hands through his hair and lets out a breath.

_I’m a Death Eater. I’m a Death Eater._

The thought makes him sick and he rushes into the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet. Madge is right behind him, rubbing his back and gently shushing him, letting him know it’s alright but they both know it isn’t. Once he’s done, she gets him to rinse his mouth and she guides him to stand to make their way to the bedroom.

He shrugs off his robes and shoes. He’s exhausted, the bed looks like heaven and he can’t stop himself from collapsing onto it. She doesn’t berate him like she usually does. Instead, she presses herself against his side, her head tucked around his chin and her left hand resting on his chest so she can feel his heartbeat.

“The wards?”

“They’re up. Just like you taught me,” she whispers. She grabs the knitted blanket at the end of her bed, drapes it over them and tells him to sleep.

The night’s event plays out in his dream, except this time his whole family is there watching as he’s being branded. Seeing his father stand next to Voldemort causes him to wake up in a sweat. Madge is sleeping peacefully next to him, so he eases out of the bed, not wanting to wake her up and fuss over him. He grabs his wand because Mad-Eye’s in his head screaming “ _CONSTANT VIGILANCE_ ”, so he checks the rest of the home and the wards before going back to Madge, who is blinking sleepily from her side of the bed.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he responds, helping her get under the covers before following. He gives her a quick kiss, which becomes longer because her hand is against the back of his neck. He maneuvers himself so he’s above her, cradled between her thighs, keeping their lips in constant contact. She lets out a moan when he slowly rocks his hardening cock against her.

“Fuck,” he groans, burning kisses down her neck, pushing the collar of her sleep shirt off her shoulder. She gasps when he finds her pulse point and begins nipping at it while she bunches up his shirt. He pulls back so he can get rid of it, along with the rest of his clothes. He huffs when she quickly divests her shirt along with her sleep pants and underwear because he loves taking her clothes off when they’re together like this, but she loves to beat him to it.

He takes a moment to admire her, the way her hair splays against the pillow, the desire in her eyes, and he settles back on top of her careful to keep his weight off using his elbows to brace himself. He enters her slowly, watching her bite her lip and her eyes close in pleasure. He maintains his rhythm and she’s meeting his thrusts, spurring him on by trailing her hands over his back and shoulders.

When he feels her right hand near his left elbow, he freezes for a split second and hope she doesn’t notice but of course she does.

“Hey,” she pants, gently turning his head so he’s not looking at his arm. “Focus on me.” She wraps her arms around his shoulders, attempting to bring him closer even though he’s as close as he can get. He huffs, tucks his arms under her back and kisses her soundly, swallowing her moans as he shortens his thrusts. He waits for her to orgasm before he follows. She doesn’t let him move out her embrace and he won’t fight her on it.

“I love you,” he says, his cheek pressed against her chest. She tightens her hold as she whispers it back.

“ _I love you_.”

* * *

_September 1996_

Two months into Gale’s mission and Madge hasn’t seen him since that night. So when he shows up at headquarters for a meeting, her stomach drops at the sight of him. He’s lost weight, there are bags under his eyes and he has a hard look on his face. Instead of taking a seat around the table, he stands near the entrance with his back against the wall, only speaking when Dumbledore asks if he anything to report.

She hates it.

Once the meeting is over and everyone files out, she waits for him by the front door. He’s still in the kitchen with Dumbledore and that makes her slightly worried. What more is there for him to report? Finally, the two men emerge and Dumbledore doesn’t look surprised to see her still standing there. He bids the couple a good night before leaving. She opens her mouth but he beats her to it.

“Can we talk somewhere more private?”

His flat hasn’t changed and Madge is slightly glad for it. With so much going on, at least his home has remained the same, unlike its occupant. After putting the wards back up, he turns to her and pulls her into him. She feels him take a shaky breath against the side of her head while she noses against his neck, the woodsy smell giving her a sense of comfort.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, kissing her temple. “It was better not to contact you—”

“I know,” she interrupts, squeezing her arms around his waist. “I understand." 

They settle on the couch and Gale begins telling her what he can. He’s used unforgivable curses on others and Mage almost lets him go, but she won’t.

“Have you killed anyone?” she whispers fearfully.

“No, not yet.”

 _Not yet_.

* * *

_March 1997_

She arrives to find the Dark Mark hovering over the house. The dread washes over her as she races in, her wand drawn. The living room has been ransacked and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the rest of the house is in the same state. She sees her father’s body first and then her mother’s. She can’t breathe, her hands are shaking as she sinks between them.

“No, no, no, _no_ ,” she whispers, staring into her mother’s blue unseeing eyes. _Dead_.

Suddenly, a voice calls out, “ _Crucio_!” and Madge is screaming as she lands flat on her back. She’s never felt this type of pain before and there’s no way for her to stop it. Her attacker doesn’t let up and if it were possible, the pain intensifies. She doesn’t know how long it’s been—a few minutes, an hour? —the only thing she understands is the white-hot pain all over her body.

Suddenly, she hears shouting, someone tackles the Death Eater and the curse is broken. Everything’s muffled, she can’t catch her breath and her jeans are wet. She can barely move her head just in time to see her savior rear his fist back before landing on her attacker’s face over and over, until the Death Eater’s face is unrecognizable and doesn’t move. She can’t help the pained moan that escapes her mouth, triggering the man to turn in her direction.

“Gale,” she whimpers and he’s at her side in an instant, cupping her face and gently wiping the hot tears trailing down her face. He’s telling her the others are on the way, to hang on and that he loves her before she passes out.

“Madge?”

It hurts to open her eyes, but she does it anyway to find Katniss sitting by her side, holding her hand. She’s wearing Katniss’ pajama bottoms and sleep shirt, which really is a Gryffindor Quidditch jersey with her last name written on the back. She realizes they’re in the bedroom Katniss shares with Peeta and if this was a normal situation she would have jokingly questioned whether or not the sheets had been washed. But it wasn’t a normal situation. Her parents are gone; she had been tortured only to have Gale save her.

“Where is he?” she rasps and Katniss is quick to reach over and give her a sip of water. Katniss hesitates but tells her that Gale could only stay for a few hours, before heading back to the Ministry. _And Voldemort_ , she thinks. She accepts the answer.

“Mom and Dad?” Katniss gently squeezes Madge’s hands as her chin trembles.

“Dumbledore’s taking care of it. You’re staying with Peeta and I—no arguments, okay?”

“Okay,” Madge says, wiping at her eye. “Will you stay with me?”

Katniss walks around to the side closest to the door— _Peeta’s side_ , she thinks—gets under the blankets and curls up against Madge’s side, throwing her arm across her stomach. Madge mirrors her, although it takes her longer because of the pain, and tucks her head under Katniss’ chin. “I’ve got you,” Katniss whispers soothingly. Madge takes a shuddering breath before more tears come out and she falls asleep to her best friend rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort.

* * *

_2 May 1998_

“ _Posy_! What are you doing here?” Madge yells, grabbing the fifteen-year-old by the shoulders. She wasn’t wearing her school robes nor sporting her usual ponytail, blood running down the side of her face and despite the tears shimmering in her eyes, she gives Madge a determined look that reminds the older girl of Gale.

“I’m helping,” she replies.

“You’re helping me have a heart attack,” Madge retorts just as fast. They don’t have time for this. _They have less than an hour_. “You were supposed to leave with the other students! You’re underage—”

“What does it matter? I can fight!”

“No!”

Madge drags her to a corner of the Great Hall from those helping the injured, which she was doing until she spotted Posy. Her heart’s hammering in her chest and she looks around hoping to find a Hawthorne boy, _any Hawthornes_ , at this point, but she can’t tell who’s who amongst the survivors. She doesn’t want Posy here. She doesn’t want Posy to _die_ , but there’s no way to get her out of here without attracting attention and she’s freaking out inside. She takes a deep breath, her hands still holding onto Posy’s shoulders, looks her in the eye and notices the slight fear in them.

“You’re going to help me with the injured until the hour’s up. No matter what…you stay by my side. I am _not_ losing you. Do you understand me?” Posy nods frantically before throwing her arms around Madge’s waist.

“Madge!” Prim calls, waving her over as Rory lays an injured school girl on a cot. He looks up, spotting his sister and sprints over to clutch at her like Madge had done moments before. “I’m going to need your help.”

Vic shows up a little bit later, having help bring in any injured or dead, with a gash on his cheek. Madge has to convince him to let her put dittany on it before he goes back out. Madam Pomfrey sets Peeta’s leg with Katniss, arm in a sling, hovering nearby. He tries to get out of his cot, grimacing but insisting someone else should have it, but Katniss firmly pushes him back down, shaking her head the entire time.

Suddenly, Voldemort announces the death of Harry Potter and Madge feels her heart drop even further. She shares a look with Katniss to see the other woman wand at the ready with glassy eyes. Survivors begin to walk out of the Great Hall, Rory and Vic included, but Madge finds that she can’t follow. She doesn’t want to see what’s out there. She doesn’t want to see him amongst the Death Eater ranks—

She keeps working amongst the injured, Posy acting like her shadow. The youngest Hawthorne glances at the doors leading out of the castle but she doesn’t make a move to join despite the shouts and bangs. Madge is still helping a patient when the confrontation moves into the Great Hall. Curses are flying and Madge barely gets her Shield charm up in time to avoid a few.

* * *

 After talking to Professor McGonagall and Kingsley, Gale looks around the Great Hall for his family. No one pays attention to him as he walks around. He catches Bill Weasley’s eye and he nods over to the other side of the room. Gale turns to see his mother surrounded by his siblings, sitting along one of the tables and he runs to them.

His mother sees him first, but it’s Posy that runs to him and holds onto him for dear life. The boys and Hazelle follow, becoming a group hug and Gale can’t help but let the tears flow because they’re alive and he can breathe a little bit easier.

“Where is she?” he asks, wiping at his eyes. Vic nods over to the platform and Gale’s heart swoops when he sees Madge helping one of the students sit up to have a drink of water. Posy nudges him which gets him to start walking over. He tells Posy that he’s not going to forget the fact that she stayed behind and they’ll have a talk later. After her parent’s death and her torture, it was hard for him to make any contact, only risking it a handful of times. It wasn’t until Dumbledore’s death that he stayed away. It hurt, but seeing her _alive_ was pretty damn worth it. She doesn’t notice him, continues asking the necessary questions until Madam Pomfrey takes over when she sees Gale standing behind Madge.

He clears his throat, his heart’s thumping and finally she turns around and her eyes widen in shock. He says her name quietly, almost unsure what her next move is going to be, but she steps forward and nearly collides with him, arms thrown around his shoulders and he squeezing her waist and takes in her flowery scent despite the blood, sweat and dirt, pressing a kiss against her neck. She turns his head so she can give him a bruising kiss and he can’t help but smile against her lips, because she did the same thing after their first date when he tried to be a gentleman, giving her a goodnight kiss on the cheek, but she had pulled him back for a proper snog.

“I don’t know if you two realize they are other people here who _don’t_ need to see that,” Rory in a stage-whisper as he passes by. Gale ends the kiss to tell him to _fuck off_ , only to see Prim flicks his ear, which he hates and makes Gale chuckle before he rests his forehead against Madge’s.

“Would it be rude to say that I want to go somewhere private?” she whispers, blushing. “I really want to be alone with you.” At that, he outright laughs and steals another kiss before holding her closer.  It’s weird how normal she sounds with the last two years being fucking hell.

“God, I love you.”

* * *

_April 1999_

Gale wakes up from another nightmare and sits up to control his breathing. It didn’t happen as often as it did right after the war, but it’s a month before the anniversary and Gale isn’t doing too well. Hell, none of them were, but they were trying. He turns on his bedside lamp and looks at the digital clock to see it’s five in the morning and right on cue he hears her moving around in her bassinet. Before she starts getting impatient, Gale is out of the bed, picking her up and whispering to her. He knows he shouldn’t hold as soon as she even imagines crying, but he really wants to hold his daughter and kiss the top of her blonde head. Madge always jokes that he’s _too_ protective, but she’s the same way and has no room to talk.

“Oh, _good morning_ Miss Eleanor. How are we doing, hmm? Are you hungry? I bet my _Nimbus_ you are.”

“You gave your _Nimbus_ to Posy, remember?” Madge says from behind him. He did, because she begged for it at the beginning of the summer so she could use it for Quidditch tryouts. The training paid off and Posy became Gryffindor’s new Seeker. He turns to see his wife sitting up in bed, hair tossed up in a bun and yawning. “Give me my baby.” Easily, he transfers Eleanor into her mother’s arms. Madge coos at the two month old while lowers her sleep shirt so her breast slips out and Eleanor can latch on. Once she settles, Madge looks at him as he gets back in bed.

“Did you have another nightmare?”

He nods, but doesn’t try to tell her which one and she understands. She watches Eleanor and he does the same.

“I still can’t believe she’s ours,” she whispers, stroking the baby’s cheek. They did end up having their private reunion in his flat as soon as they were able to leave the castle. Madge didn’t realize she was pregnant until after they were married in a small ceremony that July. In February, Eleanor Michelle Hawthorne was born and wrapped around everyone’s finger. Especially, her father’s as she’s squeezing his index finger and moving it around.

“Either way, we’re keeping her,” Gale whispers back, kissing Madge’s shoulder as she scoffs. Gale burps the baby and lays her down between them. They watch as she moves her limbs around and stares up at them. The moment’s broken when Gale gets too close and she manages to get him in the eye. Madge bursts into giggles while he curses under his breath.

“Good job, Ellie baby,” Madge smiles, gently rubbing her nose against her daughter’s. “Show him you mean business.”

Gale rolls his eyes and huffs, but she knows he’s joking. He watches his girls and thinks this is what he fought for.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr ---> [lightning5](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/)


End file.
